afc@pucc-i (Greg Flint) (07/16/85)
Okay, everyone knows that Classic Coke is returning. Great!
BUT! To where will it return?
Supermarkets?
Sure, most have plenty of shelf space.
Fountain outlets (e.g., McDonalds)?
Maybe, but only if we push for it. Most fountain machines have only
4 taps (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Orange/Root Beer - or some
similar setup). Where will Classic Coke go? Probably not in a 4-tap
outlet.
Vending machines (the most important source)?
Again, maybe. Some of the old vending machines have only 4 choices.
Other have 6, 8 or more, but still it may not be enough. With the
addition of Classic Coke and Cherry Coke to the present lineup of
New Coke, Diet Coke, Tab, Mellow Yellow, Sprite, Diet Sprite and
the various decaf versions, something has to be left out.
In all the reports that I have heard/read, the Coke company says that New
Coke will still be the flagship version and that Classic Coke will be just
another drink, competing for space with the various other Coke company
products. So a battle has been won, BUT NOT THE WAR. We need to keep the
pressure on the company, its bottlers, the merchants and vendors to insure
that Classic Coke doesn't just fade away ("Out of sight, out of mind").
Greg Flint
UUCP: { hplabs | ucbvax } !purdue!pucc-i!afc
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Consider appropriate disclaimers to have appeared here.jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) (07/22/85)
> Fountain outlets (e.g., McDonalds)? > Maybe, but only if we push for it. Most fountain machines have only > 4 taps ... You've hit on one of the most irritating abuses of statistics I've seen in the "cola wars". Specifically, I've often seen things in the media like "Brand X Cola is moving slowly in the supermarkets, but doing very well in fountain sales," or words to that effect. A little over a year ago, when I was in Nashville, Pepsi cola scored a major "coup" over Coke. Somehow they managed to sell their cola for a better price than coke, and to sell it to nearly all the fast-food restaurants thereby. Within a few months, it was almost impossible to get anything but Pepsi in most fast-food establishments! Lo and behold, the media reported, "Pepsi sales have skyrocketed." This was not particularly surprising, however, since the people buying it in these places had no choice... if you liked Acme Fried Chicken, you had to choose between the chicken or the cola (i.e., either go to Acme and drink Pepsi, or go to Mrs. Chicken's and have Coke.) This was not much of a choice, since the difference in chicken is much greater than the difference in colas. To people familiar with business, this was probably no surprise; but I tend to suspect much of the public would interpret such a comment to mean "Many people are discovering the fact that Pepsi is better than Coke." [However, there was this problem with the Pepsi... it was very watered-down.] -------- Disclaimer: Acme and Mrs. Chicken's are fictional; any connection with real companies is strictly coincidental. Pepsi is a trademark of the Pepsi Cola Company; Coke is a trademark of the Coca Cola Company. -- Shyy-Anzr: J. Eric Roskos UUCP: ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jer US Mail: MS 795; Perkin-Elmer SDC; 2486 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809-7642
toma@tekchips.UUCP (Tom Almy) (07/23/85)
In article <1354@peora.UUCP> jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) writes: >> Fountain outlets (e.g., McDonalds)? >> Maybe, but only if we push for it. Most fountain machines have only >> 4 taps ... > >You've hit on one of the most irritating abuses of statistics I've seen in >the "cola wars". ... >A little over a year ago, when I was in Nashville, Pepsi cola scored a >major "coup" over Coke. Somehow they managed to sell their cola for a >better price than coke, and to sell it to nearly all the fast-food >restaurants thereby. > >Within a few months, it was almost impossible to get anything but Pepsi in >most fast-food establishments! I have found that the "better restaurants" around here, the ones that don't have big Pepsi or Coke signs all over and tend to have waiters/resses, tend to serve RC. I always felt they did because they got a better price. The trouble with RC is that it is a nothing cola -- the cola flavoring of Pepsi combined with the sweetness of old Coke. B.T.W. the Tektronix cafeteria here used to have both Pepsi and Coke from the same fountain -- you could vote for your favorite every day, but when NEW! Coke came out they droped the Pepsi!
jrb@wdl1.UUCP (08/05/85)
The obvious answer is to boycott any machine that does not carry Classic Coke. This certainly a possibility in the workplace (Put up signs on the machine. These can be replaced as often as neccessary until the vendor gets the idea). John R Blaker UUCP: ...!fortune!wdl1!jrb ARPA: jrb@FORD-WDL1 and blaker@FORD-WDL2